Boone receives
Outstanding Planning Award Smart Growth Audit takes honors at
State Planning Conference
The town of Boone was honored by the North Carolina Chapter
of the American Planning Association (NCAPA) at its 51st annual
conference in Raleigh Sept. 24-26.
The town of Boone received
an Outstanding Planning Award for its recent Smart Growth
Audit, conducted by the Lawrence Group of Davidson. Pictured
are, from left, John Cock of the Lawrence Group, Boone
planning director John Spear, Boone Town Council member
Stephen Phillips, Boone Area Planning Commission chairman
Bunk Spann, Mayor Loretta Clawson, council member Lynne
Mason and Craig Lewis of the Lawrence Group. Photo
submitted
Each year at the annual conference, awards for outstanding planning
efforts are given. These awards recognize agencies and individuals
that have completed outstanding plans, program and projects; have
excelled as planning students; or have made outstanding contributions
to the planning profession. These awards represent the highest
standards of achievement in the planning profession in North Carolina.
The 2008 Marvin Collins Planning Awards program was the 30th annual
awards program of NCAPA. Among the 25 nominations in seven different
categories, the following award was made for “Outstanding
Planning Award – 2008 Special Theme – Managing to Grow.”
An “Outstanding Planning Award” was given to the town
of Boone for the “Boone Smart Growth Audit.” NCAPA recognized
the project in the “2008 Special Theme - Managing to Grow”
category.
Boone retained the Lawrence Group to conduct a Smart Growth Audit
with the intent to “assess current growth policies and implementation
measures for the expressed purpose of revising existing plans,
policies and practices as may be necessary to promote accepted
principles of smart growth within the desired community context
of Boone.”
The resulting report provides an assessment of the town’s
existing growth and development policies, programs and ordinances
in relation to the principles of smart growth and provides dozens
of macro and micro scale best-practice recommendations for implementing
smart growth in Boone.
The awards committee felt that the project exemplified the special
theme, “Managing to Grow” award category. Committee
members thought that the interviews with a broad range of stakeholders
were an important element of the project and that the thorough
analysis of ordinances and other planning documents was impressive
and meaningful to the town.
More than 600 professional planners, planning board members, interested
citizens and students from across North Carolina gathered at the
new Raleigh Convention Center for the event. This conference presented
an opportunity for planners to network, share ideas and become
better equipped to address the challenges facing local communities.
NCAPA is a nonprofit, public interest and research organization
representing more than 1,600 members involved with urban and rural
planning issues throughout North Carolina. One main purpose NCAPA
is to provide leadership in the development of sound planning
policies and practices in the state. Another purpose of NCAPA
is to increase awareness of the planning process, the planning
profession and the benefits that both can bring to the citizens
in communities across North Carolina. Areas of planning include
land use, environmental, transportation/transit, economic development
and community development.
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